Feed water heater



June 9, 1931. E. 1.. SCHELLENS EIT-AL 0 FEED WATER HEATER ssheet's-sheet 1 Filed July 30, 1927 9" ATTORNEYS June 9, 1931.

E. L. SCHELLENS ET AL 1,809,730

FEED WATER HEATER Filed July 30, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 0" WVMZ ATTORNEY$June 9, 1931. E. SCHELLENS ET AL 1,809,730

FEED WATER HEATER Filed July 30, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 2?,VE TORS .llllllllllll-TfLluifiIl-n W MI 14 ATTORNEYS Patented June 9, 1931 UNITEDSTATE s PATENT orrlcs EUGENE L. SCHELLENS, OF MILLIBURNhNE-W JERSEY, ANDCHRISTOPHER .A. SGHEL- LENS; or MARBLEHEAD, mssAoH sE'I-rs; ASSIGNOES soas nnGiNnERINe COM- PANY,'0E JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, A coqarom'r' on orDELAWAR I FEED WATER'HEATER Application filed July 30,

This invention relates to feed water heaters, and more particularly tolocomotive feed Water heaters of the water tube type. 7

Among the primaryobjects of the inventionare: the increasing of theefficiency of such heaters; the simplification and improve-, mentthereof as to-construction, installation and operation;jthe attainmentof greater accessibility to the parts thereof the reduction of theinitial cost and of the labor and expense required in their maintenance;the strengthening of the heater by a novel and rugged form ofconstruction, andthe provision" of means for breaking the vacuum createdin the heater under certain circumstances and thus preventing thedrawing in of .dirt, cinders and the like through the steam pipes fromthe smoke box; 7

Such a vacuumiis created at times when go the locomotive throttle isclosed and thefeed water pump remains in operation. As no steam is beingsupplied to the heater under the above circumstances the cold waterentering the heater condenses the steam remaining in the heater veryquickly and creates a vacuum which'is frequently of sufficient force todraw cindersinto the heater through'the exhaust nozzle and theheatersteam connections which usually form branches of the steam chestexhaust pipe. Such conditions, of course, necessitate Veryfrequentcleaning of the steam side of the-heater. H

How we'overcome thisdifliculty and obtain the foregoing objectsandadvantages together with others which will occur to those-skilled inthe art, will be apparent from thefollowing description, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Z

Fig. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic side elevation of the front end ofalocomotive showing our improved apparatus applied thereto; V Fig. 2 isan-enlarged front elevation of the heater with parts broken away andcertain parts shown in section; a p Fig. 3 is an enlarged view takenfrom the rightof Fig. 2, with certainparts broken away and others shownin section; I I Fig. 4 is'an enlarged sectionalview through 1927. SerialN'o. 209,540.

the heater, taken on the'line of Fig, 2; and 1 I a Fig-45 is an enlargedsection on the line 5+5 of .Fig. 2.

Referring now tothe drawings in general casing'formed of the front andback semicircular or arcuate plates 4 and 5 having flanges oat-eachside, to which are secured, as bywelded joints 9, the upper and'lowercurved :plates 7 and 8. The shell is closed atseach end'by thetubeplates 10, 10, therejbeing a bank of arcuate water tubes 11 (shownclearly in F igs. 2, 3 and4) extending from end to end .of theheater andsecured in said tube plates. The tube plates are secured, as by weldedoints 12;"t0 the four longitudinal casing plates of theshell.v

The tubes 11 are arranged in a plurality of passes 11a, 1172, 110, 11dand 116' (as shown in Figs. 3 and 4), serially from back to front of theheater.

To provide for water circulation in the order indicated, the heater isprovided at each end with a header 13, the headers being counterparts ofeach other but reversed in position. Each header has chambers 13a, 13band13c, co-operating with the banks or groups of tubes, so that the,Water'e ntering through inlet 14 passes from chamber 13a through tubes11a to chamber 130 in'the opposite header, .then back through tubes 11?)to chamber 136 of the inlet head er, then through tubes to chamber 136of the outlet header, from whence it passes through tubes 11d tochamberof the inlet header, and thence through tubes lle to lchamber 13a ofthe'outlet header, and through the outlet 15., Asuitable pipe 16 bringsthe water from the pump (not shown) to the inlet 14, and a pipe 17conveysit to the boiler through: the check-valve 18'.

front plate 4 by studs19, is an arcuate per? In front of the tubes, andspaced fromthe ing from end to end of the heater. Steam, preferablyexhaust steam taken from the valve chests 21 of the engine and conductedthrough valve 22 and pipe 23, is admitted through inlet 24 into thespace between plate 4 and the distributing plate 20, which latterdirects it, throughout the length of the heater, crosswise of the tubes11. The hot steam, as it enters, comes first into contact with the bankof tubes 116 which constitutes the last and hottest passof the water,and subsequently, in order, with the other banks of tubes, suchcounterflow producing the greatest efiiciency due to the fact that thereis a minimum of temperature difference as between the steamand eachsuccessive group of water tubes among it passes. Exhaust steam from theair pump 25 and from other auxiliaries, such as the stokerengine (notshown) may also be led' to the heater through pipes 26 and 27. Theheater is designed to condense all the steam which it uses, and weprovide suitable condensate outlets 28, at the bottom of the two legs ofthe heater, which allow the condensate to pass off through the drain 29and valve 30, either to the track or to some point of use.

At the top of the heater, at either side, are provided hand-holes 31,for inspection, cleaning and repair of the heater, and beneath each holeis a tube spacing or positioning plate 32 secured by bolts 33 and byengagement with notches 34 in a hand-holeframe or flange 35, whichlatter is secured by welding 36. Each hole 31 is closed by a removablecover or plate 37 secured to the frame 35 by bolts 38. The hand-holecover is formed with a bail or eye-member 39 for the insertion of cranehooks when moving, lifting or handling the heater.

At the top of the heater we provide a pipe 40, having an upturnedportion 40a adjacent the stack 49'of the engine. This pipe is open toatmospheric pressure and serves to break any vacuum which may be formedin the heater under certain operating conditions, for example, when theheater is receiving very little or no steam and the feed Water pumpremains in' operation. Thus drawing in of cinders through the exhaustnozzle a and steam connections from the smoke box is effectively andautomatically prevented, as a large amount of air will enter the heaterthrough the pipe40 as soon as any vacuum is created. Furthermore, whenthe heater is not receiving any steam, (i. e., when the throttle isclosed) the blower nozzle 1) is usually open. This nozzle creates adraft in the smoke box which is of sufficient force to draw air into theheater through the pipe 40 and through the connection 23 to the nozzlea. Thus a circulation from the heater to the smoke box is alwaysprovided which prevents any waste gases or cinders from entering theheater.

The heater is provided at the back with lugs 41, secured as by welding42, 43, and is mounted on the front of the smoke box by screw bolts 44extending from the lugs 41 in through the front cover of the smoke boxand held by lock-nuts 45.

Lagging 46 surrounds the heater, fillin the space formed by the flanges6 on the Front and back of the casing, and the space on the top andbottom formed by the setting-in or spacing of plates 7 and 8 from theflanged edges 6, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. A suitable metallic retainincover 47 is supplied for the lagging, such cover being readily securedby bolts or rivets to the flanges 6, and spaced from the casing platesby collars or studs 48.

It should be noted that the front and back casing members 4, 5, withtheir flanges 6, provide a stiff and solid construction not only for thepurpose of mounting the heater by means of the lugs and bolts 41, 44,but also for the mounting of the steam inlet flange 24a, the condensateoutlets 28, the vent 40, and the cast steel hand-hole frames 35,providing,in short, a rigid, rugged construction throughout, and this atcomparatively slight cost since the two semi-circular flanged or dishedpieces 4 and 5 may be cut from a single circular piece of the requireddished formation, such material being readily avail able'commercially. Afurther advantage of this flanged formation is the ease with which thelagging may be secured to the heater, and the protection which itaffords it, all the edges and corners of the heater being solid andrugged.

The piping to the heater, particularly the steam admission piping, itwill be noticed is so positioned or located as to form with the heateritself practically a forward extension of the smoke-box, so far'asoutside dimensions are concerned, so that the enginemans vision is notinterfered with, nor the proper exhaust of the smoke from the stack.

We claim 1. A feed water heater having an arcuate casing formed of apair of dished plates, and a pair of plates secured between them.

2. A feed water heater having an arcuate casing formed of a pair ofdished plates, and a pair of plates secured between them and setin fromtheir edges.

3. A feed water heater having an arcuate casing formed of a pair ofdished plates, and a pair of plates secured between them, together withmounting studs and bolts secured to one of the dished plates.

4. A multi-tube locomotive feed water heater having a hand-hole framesecured thereto, and a cover for said hole, said frame havingengagementmeans for positioning internal parts of the heater.

5. A locomotive feed water heater having a hand-hole frame securedthereto, and a cover for said hole, tubes within the heater,

and a spacer for the tubes located-adjacent the hand-hole and positionedby the frame.

6. In combination with a locomotive and its smoke box and stack, anarcuate heater mounted at the front of the smoke box substantiallywithin its circumferential surface, extended, saidheater having steamconveying means at the front of it, and vacuumbreaking means at its tophaving an outlet in front of the stack, all so arranged as to permitclear forward vision of the engineman "and proper exhaust of the smoke.

7 An arcuate feed water heater having a casing with arcuate water tubestherein, and

tube plates welded to the casing and forming end closures therefor, saidcasing being formed of a pair of spaced plates of dished cross sectionand a pair of plates between them.

8. An arcuate feed water heater having a casing with arcuate water tubestherein, and tube plates welded to the casing and forming end closurestherefor, said casing being formed of a pair of spaced plates of dishedcross section and a pair of plates welded between them and spaced fromtheir edges.

9. In a heater of the character described, a casing having, when viewedin cross-section, flanges at its edges providing recesses on all sides.7

10. In a heater of the character described,

a casing having, when viewed in cross seclatter, and means ofcommunication between 'the steamspace of the heater and, the atmos-';phere, sa d means belng so posltioned, and of suchcapacity as comparedwith the condensing capaclty of the heater that'air will entertherethrough sufficiently rapidly to break the vacuum caused by steamcondensation, upon the shutting'oif of the steam-supply, before anysubstantial influx of smoke-box gases through the exhaust-steamadmission means into the heater can take place.

13. In combinationwith a locomotive and its smoke-box, a feed waterheater, having water tubes and a steam chamber, means for by drawing inof undesirable mation of vacuum therein, than the resistance whichexists to influx of gases from the smoke-box through the steam admissionmeans into the heater.

14. A locomotive exhaust-steam-heated feed water heater of the closedtype, having a casing forming a chamber, 'feed-waterv tubes therein,means for admitting locomotive exhaust-stean into said chamber, meansfor taking 0d the normal discharge from the steam chamber in the form ofcondensate, and'a normally substantially nonfunctioning opening inthe'casing so located and ofisuch capacity'as to be operative to breakvacuum, upon formation of the same in the steam chamber by condensation,wheregases through the steam inlet is avoided.

, 15. The method of operating a locomotive exhaust-steam-heated feedwater heater of the steam-chamber water-tube type, which is subject tocondensation of steam therein by.

the water int-he tubes when the exhaust steam isshut off, which includesbreaking the vacu um formed in the heater by such condensation to avoiddrawing 111 of products of combustion.

16. The method of operating a locomotive exhaust-steam-heated feed waterheater of the steam-chamber water-tube type, which is subject'tocondensation of steam therein by the water in the tubes when the exhauststeam is shut 05, which includes automatically breaking the vacuum inthe heater as it is created by such condensation.

17. In a locomotive, a boiler, smoke-box andexhaust outlet, anexhaust-steam-heated closed type. feed water heater havingwatertubesanda steam chamber, means for passlng water throughthe tubes intothe boiler, a steam delivery means for passing exhaust steam into thesteam chamber, and means for taking off the discharge therefrom, saidheater being of such condensing capacity that, upon shutting off ofexhaust steam, cold water in theheater tubes wouldnormally create avacuum effect in the steam chamber overbalancing the'vacuum effect ofthe smoke- ,box on thesteam delivery line, together with means forobviating such over-balance, to preventfdrawlng of undesirable elementsfrom the smoke-box into the steam cham her.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto signed our names.

EUGENE I L; SCHELLENS.

CHRISTOPHER A. SCHELLENS.

admitting locomotive exhaust-steam to the i V latter, and means ofcommunication between the steam-space of the heater and the atmosphere,said means being so constructed and arranged as to ofier less reslstanceto airflow therethrough into the heater, upon forl

